Goree Island Composting Project, Dakar

This project is transforming micro-gardening in the district through the repair and redesign of an unused system of sorting and composting. The project includes all levels of participants in households, schools, public institutions and commercial infrastructure. It is a partnership with the municipality and a local NGO partner, Institut Africain de Gestion Urbaine (IAGU).

Using community surveys, much effort was made at the outset of this project to understand the perceptions and needs of the public related to micro-gardening and composting. Outreach activities also played a key role in preparing the community through information sessions and public meetings. Through these activities a full appreciation of the needs and potential outcomes of the project developed.

Training in waste separation has involved approximately 150 of the 200 households on Goree Island.

Dakar Municipal Nursery and Vegetable Gardens Project

The goals of this municipal nursery are to provide training in nursery techniques and micro gardening to unemployed youth and women in the neighbourhood, render the neighbourhood/city more aesthetically pleasing, and grow plants with which to green the city, thereby increasing air quality and providing sound and heat control. The nursery is intended to improve the city landscape while at the same time provide both plants and seeds for sale. Hardy species that can survive under difficult conditions being exacerbated by climate change, such as those with drought tolerance, make up the inventory of the nursery. The project is also undertaking site preparation activities such as waste cleanup and basic irrigation provision. The entire project is being managed by a committee of city and municipal staff but predominantly public representatives in the municipality in which the nursery is located.

Enhancing Sustainable Milk Production

This was a one-year demonstration project in Havana Province, in which Canadian dairy farmers shared their experience in herd management with Cuban farmers to increase milk production from sustainable, pasture-based dairy units.

The project doubled milk production at the local cooperative farm (CPA) and, as the project's grass/legume rotational pastures become more established, further production increases are anticipated. This project improved income earned by cooperative members from milk production. Changes made in farm management practices at the co-operative have meant that fewer cows suffer from mastitis, calf pneumonia, or other herd related illnesses, meaning that farmers no longer have to invest in expensive medical care or for the purchase of new healthy dairy cows. The introduction of a women's calf brigade increased the economic value and status of women's work at the CPA. This project won the AMEC Award for Sustainable Development of Natural Resources or Environmental Protection in the 2007 Canadian Awards for International Cooperation.

Sri Lanka Urban Greening Partnership Program

This project introduced and enhanced urban agriculture in three cities in Sri Lanka as a strategy to reduce poverty and enhance the environment. The "Greening Package" involved capacity building, community environmental management and income generation, targeted particularly at women.

As a result, 300 home gardens were created, and home composting programs in 100 homes in Matale, Moratuwa and Badulla were set up. The Moratuwa Municipal Council created a separate budget line for Urban Greening in 2006, and the Council now requires that all newly constructed buildings incorporate green space into their design.

Urban Greening in Bangkok

Sustainable Cities worked with communities and the local government to rehabilitate two areas in downtown Bangkok with plants and trees. Community residents were engaged in developing their own 'green plan' for their neighbourhood, and then cleaned up derelict areas and planted vegetables, herbs and flowers. They improved their own nutrition, saved money on buying food and grew sufficient produce to sell or share with others in the community. In addition, the project empowered local residents to participate in community affairs by getting people involved in stakeholder engagement processes.

Comox - Helmcken Greenway

Sustainable Cities International was contracted by the City of Vancouver to engage youth in grades 1-12 in imagining what the Comox-Helmcken Greenway should look like. The proposed greenway runs from Stanley Park to Yaletown in downtown Vancouver and is meant to encourage active transportation and community connections along the route. In partnership with Social Policy at the City of Vancouver, SCI designed four different workshops to be delivered to grades 1-3, grades 4-7, grades 8-12 and ESL respectively.

SCI African Urban Sustainability Program

Planning some of the most dynamic and rapidly changing environments in urban areas in Africa is a challenge. The SCI African Urban Sustainability Program focuses on this challenge. Active in Dakar, Senegal, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Durban, South Africa, we work to bring mayors and councils of each city and its municipalities along with their staff and local NGOs to work together to develop stronger processes and outcomes for improving the quality of life for their citizens.